Spring Affair, the Midwest’s largest gardening event, is 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 26 at the Lancaster Event Center, 4100 N. 84th St. More than 500 different varieties of plants will be offered at the day-long plant sale, with educational talks, “talk-abouts” and garden vendors all under the same roof.

The 2014 theme, “Plants Are the Bee’s Knees,” refers to the importance of gardens as far more than just places of beauty, said Kim Todd, UNL Extension horticulture specialist.

“Gardens have always been valued for their beauty and shelter but they’re becoming increasingly essential for diversity, pollination, wildlife habitat and other broad environmental issues,” Todd said.

UNL entomologists will discuss the importance of pollinators in “The Buzz on Bees” talk. Bob Henrickson, Nebraska Statewide Arboretum, will talk on “Great Plants for Great Gardens.” In the afternoon, Jackie Urkoski, NSA executive director, and Justin Evertson, green infrastructure coordinator, will talk about “The Difference a Garden Makes.”

Additional informal presentations on trees, shrubs, vines, shade and dry sites will be given around the plant tables.

Plants available at the sale are selected for regional suitability, uniqueness and demand are provided by Bluebird Nursery of Clarkson. Gardeners will find perennials, herbs, native plants, temperennials, vines and a variety of trees and shrubs.

For best plant choices, the Spring Affair Preview Party is April 26. This is a ticketed event.

Admission to the sale is free. It will be in Pavilion I, on the northeast edge of the Lancaster Event Center. Parking is available north of the building.

Spring Affair is sponsored by Nebraska Statewide Arboretum in partnership with the Department of Agronomy and Horticulture, UNL Extension and Extension Master Gardeners. This annual event serves as both an educational tool and a fundraising event for the ongoing growth of the arboretum and the Agronomy and Horticulture Department.

For more information, call 402-472-2971 or go to http://springaffair.unl.edu/.